Dell needs to aggressively promote Ubuntu to retain its relevance

More European municipalities and law enforcement agencies are moving wholesale OFF Microsoft Windows and TO Linux.

In tough economic times that WILL get tougher, Dell should aggressively promote Ubuntu solutions for home, government and education in order to retain its relevance.

Because Dell has retreated from its early voice of minimal support for the Ubuntu distribution - or any Linux at all on desktops and laptops - I will have to look to ZAREASON or PogoLinux for my next PC - or simply go to the Mac.

I am already converting others' machines to Ubuntu -at their request- in large part because of problems and cost with the 'security' and anti-virus software that is totally unneeded on Linux!

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Linux wont succeed or fail on the desktop based on anything DELL does (or doesn’t do). You need to go back to the beginning. The average computer users first learned everything they knew about computers at work. All business computers ran MS software. When it became time to own their own PC they went with what they already knew. And passed it on to their children at home. So it is very difficult to break the old, comfortable habits with something new.

The easiest and surest way to move from MS to Linux would be for Government and Private Industry to move to it. Until that happens, most home users will still buy and use what’s compatible with their jobs. And any alternatives will have a very long and difficult road ahead to change their thinking.

"Dell Premium Harware Should Come with Ubuntu Because it's Better. And Dell cares about better for consumers. Dell loves us".

That's a bold statement. This depends greatly on the user. Sadly Ubuntu does not support all of the excellent programs made for Windows, even with Wine. Just try Photo Shop. Wine is inefficent too, only adding to the problem. If you are interested in gaming, Ubuntu is a nightmare. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!".

Linux distros are really nice and easy to use for everyday tasks and programming and I really like that it's a complete package with every driver you'll need, but I and many others prefer Windows because of the compatibility.

My old laptop died the other week, eaten up by malware, etc, etc.... Rashly I formatted the hard drive forgetting that I did not have any recovery media. Just as I was opening the window, ready to throw it under the next passing truck (it's a HP and cheaper to destroy than fix) I remembered linux. I got an installation disk for Ubuntu, installed it, changed the desktop picture and sweet, works nice. Actually like a new computer, boots up quickly, no longer melts the motherboard, and doesn't sound like a leafblower anymore.

It gets my A1 recommendation for: ease of use, free(ness) and for making my seven year old rubbish HP hardware better than it was when new - oh that's not an exageration. Running a HP laptop with a Nvidea graphics card I have experienced mother board meltdown. I have a penny glued to the heat sink just to keep the old bugger running. Now it doesn't need it because it's not running windows. I always thought it was a hardware problem. Actually it was a combination of rubbish hardware and rubbish software.

Dell Premium Harware Should Come with Ubuntu Because it's Better. And Dell cares about better for consumers. Dell loves us.

@expatinasia: When Dell introduced it's Ubuntu options they languished in a far out of reach super secrete part of Dell's vast website and they refused to advertise the product. However they did do there very best to entice Dell Ubuntu shoppers who actually found the Ubuntu offerings back to Windows with banner adds for Windows Vista all over the shop.

However with all that said and done. Whenever Dell were asked about how those Ubuntu options were selling and what the return rates were. Dell insisted they were comparible to the Windows equivelants.

Now just think about that for a minute. Microsoft and it's partners like Dell advertise relentlessly. Everywhere you look on-line there's an add for a laptop with the latest version of Windows. And yet Ubuntu laptops sold just as well with little more than word of mouth behind them. It would seem there was plenty of demand. Just not enough will power to break the mould on Dell's part.

"103,904 votes"
Let's call it 104K, divide by ten and you get 10400 people. Too, voting for a product is completely different from purchasing a product - witness the poor sales performance of the Ford Edsel. The fact is that Dell offers Ubuntu on products, and they would have steller sales records if the Linux base wanted them. Since Ubuntu is not offered throughout the entire product line would seem to indicate that Ubuntu is a niche market.

As near as anybody can figure out the problem with Dell offering Linux is Microsoft. Dell and Microsoft are strategic partners. Dell serves Microsoft's needs on desktops and Microsoft serves Microsoft's needs on desktops. That's how the deal works.